REIGN PREVIEW 12/21 – Ontario vs. Coachella Valley

WHO: Ontario Reign (15-8-0-0) vs. Coachella Valley Firebirds (13-10-1-3)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #24
WHEN: Saturday, December 21 @ 6:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Toyota Arena – Ontario, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: KCAL+ / FloHockey – AUDIO: ESPN LA App / Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ShafReign & @OntarioReign

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign and Coachella Valley Firebirds complete their home-and-home weekend series with their fifth meeting of the season on Saturday night at Toyota Arena. The contest will feature Ontario’s annual Teddy Bear Toss, with fans ready to throw stuffed animals onto the playing surface after the Reign score their first goal of the game.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Ontario’s win on Friday night was its fifth straight and kept them hot, having secured 11 wins from the past 13 outings dating back to mid-November. The victory also moved the Reign into a tie for third place in the Pacific Division along with Coachella Valley and Tucson. Each club has secured 30 points in the standings. The Reign hold the third-highest scoring offense in the AHL, averaging 3.57 goals per game. Both Ontario and Coachella Valley clubs are in the top-5 among AHL teams in shots on goal per contest, with the Reign ranking fourth (31.70) and Coachella Valley fifth (31.41). The Firebirds are unbeaten on the road when they have a lead after the first period (3-0-0).

LAST TIME OUT: The Ontario Reign extended their season-long winning streak to five games with a 4-1 victory over the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Friday night. All five wins have been in come-from-behind fashion, with the latest coming after the Reign allowed the first goal in the second period before scoring four straight. Samuel Fagemo led the way with two tallies in the contest, including the game-winner on the power play in the first minute of the third, while Charles Hudon added a goal and an assist and goaltender Pheonix Copley stopped 32 of the Firebirds 33 shots on net.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Prior to Ontario’s win on Friday night, the Firebirds had emerged victorious from the first three matchups between the I-10 rivals to begin the 2024-25 season. Forwards Ryan Winterton and Eduard Sale have led the way for Coachella Valley with four points apiece in the series. Forward Jani Nyman, who scored the Firebirds’ lone goal on Friday, leads Coachella Valley with three tallies against Ontario and his linemate Ben Meyers has also added four assists for in the series. Samuel Fagemo and Francesco Pinelli lead the Reign against the Firebirds this season, each posting a team-high three points on two goals and an assist. Martin Chromiak also has two tallies for Ontario in the series. A year ago, Ontario won four of the eight matchups against Coachella Valley during 2023-24 with a record of 4-3-0-1. Fagemo had a team-high five goals against Coachella Valley last season along with an assist for six points while playing in six of the contests. The Firebirds ended the Reign’s season, winning the teams’ first-ever postseason series in the Pacific Division Finals.

JUST CALL HIM HU-DINI: Forward Charles Hudon extended his scoring streak to four games Friday night, putting the puck into an empty net late in the third period to give Ontario an important insurance goal that helped secure the victory. Hudon had another important strike on Wednesday, netting the game-winning goal to defeat Calgary at 9:58 of the third period off a 2-on-1 rush. Hudon is now at 11 goals for the season and has scored at least 10 in all eight of his career AHL campaigns. The Alma, Quebec native is second on the team in goal-scoring behind only Samuel Fagemo (14). The former fifth-round selection by Montreal in 2012 has 20 points from his first 23 games this season after finishing 2023-24 with 54 points in 56 outings on 20 goals and 34 assists. Hudon scored 10 of his 20 goals on the power play a season ago and previously led the AHL in power play goals when he totaled 17 as a member of the Colorado Eagles during 2022-23.

SCOUTING THE FIREBIRDS: Coachella Valley advanced to the Calder Cup Finals in each of its first two seasons in the AHL but came up short of the league’s title both times, falling to the eventual champion Hershey Bears. The Firebirds have finished both of their first two regular seasons with 103 total points in the Pacific Division standings, earning a first-place finish and a bye in the opening round of the postseason last year. Forward Ben Meyers has made a big impact on the scoresheet in his first season with the Firebirds and currently leads the team in scoring with 19 points in 22 games on nine goals and 10 assists. John Hayden is just behind him with 17 points on six tallies and 11 helpers. Attackers Jani Nyman (9-7=16) and Ryan Winterton (7-8=15) have also both been offensive factors, as has defender Max Lajoie (2-13=15) who is first in scoring among the team’s blueliners. While Ales Stezka has garnered the majority of playing time in goal, appearing in 17 games with a .909 save percentage, rookie Nikke Kokko has the better record, going 7-2-1 in 11 contests.

ELEMENT-ARY, MY DEAR WATSON: Forward Shawn Element now has a point streak of three games after assisting on Francesco Pinelli’s first period goal Friday night in the win over Coachella Valley. Previously, Element had scored in back-to-back contests at home against San Jose and Coachella Valley. The Victoriaville, Quebec native is now more than halfway to his career-high of 18 points, which he reached in each of the last two seasons while with the Syracuse Crunch. Element has produced 10 points on six goals and four helpers through 22 appearances this year with Ontario.

EARLY STARTS SPELL SUCCESS: Ontario has a 9-0-0 record when it scores the first goal this season and is the only team without a loss of any kind when they net the opening tally of the night. The nine wins feature three come-from-behind victories, including last Sunday’s triumph over San Jose which featured two comebacks in the third period. The Reign also own a 7-2-0 mark when leading after the first period and an unblemished 8-0-0 record when they enter the second intermission with an advantage on the scoreboard.

Reign Check Gameday Forecast

2024-25 Head-to-Head Schedule vs. Coachella Valley:
Fri., Oct. 25 at Coachella Valley, 2-5 L – Full Recap
Fri., Nov. 8 vs. Coachella Valley, 3-4 L – Full Recap
Sun., Nov 10 at Coachella Valley, 2-4 L – Full Recap
Fri., Dec. 20 at Coachella Valley, 4-1 W – Full Recap
Sat., Dec. 21 vs. Coachella Valley, 6 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 28 at Coachella Valley, 6 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 4 vs. Coachella Valley, 6 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 25 vs. Coachella Valley, 6 p.m.